UJtOZS 


1313 


Prepared  and  published  by 
friends  of  Frank  O.  Lowden 
as  a  well  merited  tribute  to 
the  Great  War  Governor 
of  Illinois.        -      -       -       - 


GOVERNOR   FRANK   O.   LOWDEN 


Frank  O.  Lowden 

Governor  of  Illinois 
1919 


FRANK  O.  LOVVDEN 

Late  in  the  '60's  a  seven -year -old  boy  trudged  behind 
his  father's  prairie  schooner  across  the  unsettled  country 
from  Minnesota  to  Iowa.  The  rough  roads  cut  his  bare 
feet,  the  brambles  ripped  his  blue  jeans. 

But  he  was  game. 

Ten  years  before,  this  boy's  father  had  taken  another 
long  journey  with  his  family  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Minnesota,  where  he  earned  a  living  as  a  countryside  black- 
smith. Lorenzo  Lowden  was  the  father's  name.  Of  course 
you  have  guessed  that  the  son  who  was  born  three  years 
later,  and  who  so  bravely  tramped  behind  the  prairie 
schooner  when  still  a  mere  child,  was  Frank  Orren  Lowden, 
Governor  of  Illinois. 

A  new  home  in  a  cabin,  was  established  in  Hardin 
County,  on  the  Iowa  prairies.  The  senior  Lowden  farmed, 
his  son  helping  him  and  at  the  same  time  striving  hard  to 
get  an  education.  As  was  the  case  of  the  frontier  boy,  he 
had  few  opportunities  to  study  and  attend  school.  At 
fifteen,  however,  he  had  made  such  good  use  of  his  time  that 
he  obtained  a  school,  which  he  taught  for  five  years. 

EARNED  HIS  OWN  EDUCATION 

A  fine  education  was  his  goal.  His  salary  as  a  teacher 
was  so  small  that  he  undertook  the  cleaning  up  of  his  own 
school  room  to  earn  a  few  extra  dollars.  Saving  and  study- 
ing, he  managed  to  save  money  to  enter  the  University  of 
Iowa  when  twenty  years  old.  His  money  ran  out  and  he 
was  compelled  to  get  another  school.  He  succeeded  in 
keeping  up  his  studies  so  he  was  able  to  return  to  the  uni- 
versity, from  which  he  was  graduated  at  the  head  of  his 
class. 

The  first  goal  attained,  his  eyes  turned  to  another — a 
legal  degree.     By  teaching  in  Burlington,  Iowa,  and  working 


B. 

L  112^ 


ii^'iif^' 


MRS.  FRANK  O.  LOWDEN 


as  a  law  clerk  at  $8  a  week  in  Chicago,  to  which  he  came  in 
1886,  he  made  his  way  through  the  Union  College  of  Law, 
now  Northwestern.  He  was  graduated  in  1887,  having  com- 
pleted the  work  of  the  two-year  course  in  one  year.  Here 
again  he  was  valedictorian  of  his  class,  receiving  the  first 
prize  for  his  oration  and  the  first  prize  for  scholarship. 

WINS  SUCCESS  IN  CHICAGO 

In  the  same  year  he  was  examined  for  admission  to  the 
bar  by  the  committee  of  the  Appellate  Court  for  the  First 
District  of  Illinois  and  outranked  all  who  at  that  time  took 
the  examination.  Admitted  to  the  practice  of  law,  the  next 
eight  years  were  filled  with  work — hard  and  trying  as  the 
previous  years.  Success,  however,  was  assured  by  his  early 
training.  The  boy  of  the  prairie  was  more  than  able  to  hold 
his  own  among  the  brilliant  minds  practicing  law  in  Chicago. 

Along  with  those  qualities  indispensable  to  the  lawyer — a 
keen,  rapid,  logical  mind,  plus  the  business  sense,  and  a 
ready  capacity  for  hard  work — he  brought  to  the  starting 
point  of  his  legal  career  rarer  gifts^ — eloquence  of  language 
and  a  strong  personality.  An  excellent  presence,  an  earnest, 
dignified  manner,  marked  strength  of  character,  a  thorough 
grasp  of  the  law,  and  the  ability  accurately  to  apply  its 
principles  were  factors  in  Colonel  Lowden's  effectiveness  as 
an  advocate. 

In  1896  he  was  married  to  Miss  Florence  Pullman, 
daughter  of  one  of  America's  greatest  business  men — the 
late  George  M.  Pullman  of  the  Pullman  Company.  One 
son  and  three  daughters  were  born  to  them. 

LOWDEN  ENTERS  POLITICS 

A  new  period  of  his  life  now  opens.  Popular,  brilliant 
and  untiring,  he  turned  his  attention  to  politics.  He 
entered  the  presidential  campaign  and  devoted  his  great 
speaking  ability  to  electing  Williajm  McKinley  President  of 
the  United  States.  After  the  election  President  McKinley 
offered  him  a  high  office  in  Washington,  but  Colonel  Lowden 


was  not  ready  to  abandon  his  profession.  In  1903  friends 
urged  him  to  seek  the  nomination  for  Governor  of  IlHnois. 
After  a  terrific  campaign  and  a  convention  lasting  twenty- 
one  days  he  was  defeated  by  Charles  S.  Deneen.  In  the 
campaign  following  the  convention  Colonel  Lowden  devoted 
his  time  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Deneen  to  the  governorship. 

GOES  BACK  TO  THE  FARM 

The  call  of  the  soil  from  which  he  came  as  a  western 
pioneer  always  had  sounded  sweet  in  his  ears.  In  1900  he 
purchased  a  farm  in  Ogle  County  in  the  beautiful  Rock 
River  Valley,  near  the  town  of  Oregon.  To  it  he  moved  his 
family,  with  a  view  to  making  it  his  permanent  home. 

But  his  neighbors  were  not  content  to  let  him  rest  in 
peace.  They  drafted  him  in  1906  and  sent  him  to  Congress 
to  represent  the  Thirteenth  District  in  the  National  House  of 
Representatives.  He  served  them  two  terms,  retiring 
voluntarily  to  regain  his  health  and  devote  his  energies  to  the 
development  of  the  great  agricultural  resources  of  his  farm, 
which  he  named  Sinnissippi  Farm. 

Colonel  Lowden  was  a  hard  worker  in  Congress,  as  he 
always  had  been  in  everything.  He  voted  for  the  bill 
limiting  the  hours  of  labor  of  train  crews,  the  employers' 
liability  act,  the  act  regulating  child  labor  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  the  measure  establishing  a  bureau  of  mines  and 
the  bill  creating  the  postal  savings  bank  system.  He  sup- 
ported a  constitutional  amendment  providing  for  an  income 
tax.  He  delivered  a  notable  speech  advocating  publicity  in 
connection  with  the  big  industries  of  the  country. 

GOES  ON  NATIONAL  COMMITTEE 

Colonel  Lowden  retired  from  politics  after  two  terms, 
but  his  party  required  his  services,  and  in  1908  he  was 
elected  national  committeeman  for  Illinois,  serving  in  that 
capacity  for  eight  years. 

All  this  while  his  unflagging  interest  in  agriculture  was 
manifest.     He  increased  his   farm  acreage.     He  was  also 


raising  cotton  in  Arkansas  and 
Texas  and  attending  to  his 
big  business  interests.  Be- 
tween overseeing  the  develop- 
ment of  his  lands,  the  breeding 
of  fine  stock,  dairying,  road 
building  and  planting  500,000 
pines  on  Sinnissippi  Farm  he 
was  a  very  busy  man. 

Colonel  Lowden  was  not  so 
engrossed,  however,  that  he 
could  not  devote  some  of  his 
great  energies  to  aiding  his 
fellow  man.  He  gave  liberally 
to  deserv^ing  causes.  He 
aided  in  the  developm.ent  of 
a  vocational  or  training  school 
for  youth  at  Pullman — a  mag- 
nificent, useful  institution. 
He  served  as  trustee  of  numer- 
ous small  colleges  that  needed 
his  abihty  in  their  develop  ment.  The  young  man  struggling 
for  an  education  found  a  sympathetic  and  wise  counselor  in 
him  because  he  remembered  his  own  hardships. 

HAS  ABLE  LIEUTENANT  IN  MRS.  LOWDEN 

In  his  work  he  has  a  strong  supporter  in  Mrs.  Lowden, 
whose  unostentatious  charities  have  endeared  her  not  only 
to  the  countryside  but  to  the  poor  of  Chicago.  She  built 
and  furnished  two  cottages  which  she  called  Hilltop  on  the 
farm  overlooking  the  beautiful  Rock  River.  To  this  haven 
crippled  and  orphaned  boys  and  girls  were  taken  from 
Chicago  hospitals  and  tenements,  and  kept  until  they 
regained  their  health  before  being  sent  back  to  the  crowded 
districts  of  the  city. 

The  children  were  in  charge  of  trained  nurses.  They 
had  the  freedom  of  the  farm.     Swings  and  merry-go-rounds 


FLORENCE  LOWDEN 


amused  them.  They  Uved  on  the  best  farm  fare.  In  summer 
they  were  driven  about  in  automobiles.  In  winter  they 
were  given  sleigh  rides  behind  horses  with  jingling  bells. 
Many  found  health,  peace  and  happiness  at  Hilltop.  Few 
ever  heard  of  this  quiet  work  of  Mrs.  Lowden.  In  fact,  it 
was  carried  on  so  quietly  that  hundreds  of  persons  visited 
Sinnissippi  Farm  annually  without  ever  hearing  of  Hilltop. 

PROTECTOR  OF  BIRDS 

What  can  be  accomplished  by  the  fostering  and  pro- 
tection of  birds  may  be  seen  on  the  farm  of  Colonel  Lowden. 
Not  only  are  the  broad  acres 
a  legally  protected  game  pre- 
serve under  the  terms  of  a 
lease  to  the  State  of  Illinois 
but  the  owner's  interest  in 
outdoor  life,  whether  feather- 
ed or  furred,  has  led  him  to 
install  many  devices  for  the 
comfort  of  his  wild  "  tenants . ' ' 

In  fact,  the  birds  can 
hardly  be  called  wild,  since 
the  entire  absence  of  shoot- 
ing, robbing  of  nests  and 
other  forms  of  persecution 
havesobanished  their  natural 
fears  that  they  show  little 
timidity  in  the  near  presence 
of  human  beings. 

This  collection  of  birds  has 
afforded  ornithologists  a  fine 
place  of  observation,  and 
several  visit  the  farm  yearly  to  pursue  their  studies.  In  a 
record  kept  by  Governor  Lowden  more  than  eighty  species 
have  been  listed  as  found  in  his  forests,  fields  and  shrubbery. 
While  a  few  of  these  are  migrants,  most  of  them  are  known 
to  nest. 


PULLMAN   LOWDEN 


A  remarkable  result  of  the  system  of  feeding  and  pro- 
tection is  that  the  cardinal,  whose  usual  habitat  is  much 
farther  south,  not  only  is  a  regular  summer  visitor  and 
breeder,  but  also  has  been  known  to  remain  through  the 
winter.  This  is  doubtless  because  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Lowden 
always  provide  suet  and  other  food  for  the  birds  throughout 
the  cold  season. 

IS  ELECTED  GOVERNOR 

The  people  of  Illinois — a  majority  of  them,  at  least — were 
not  willing  that  Colonel  Lowden  should  remain  on  his  farm, 

where  he  finds  so  much  happi- 
ness. They  wanted  him  for 
their  Governor.  After  a  year 
of  insistence  he  became  a 
candidate  for  the  Republican 
nomination.  On  September 
13  the  primaries  were  held. 
He  was  nominated  by  a  plural- 
ity of  120,214,  or  a  majority  of 
34,711.  On  November  7  he 
was  swept  into  office  by  a 
tremendous  vote — a  majority 
of  149,842. 

A  statement  he  made  after 
the  election  is  typical  of  the 
man.  "I  do  not  wish,"  he  said, 
"to  prophesy  an  Augustan  era 
for  the  state  during  my  ad- 
ministration. I  do  not  care  to 
boast  of  high  ideals.  But  I 
have  definite  views  regarding 
certain  changes  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  state  affairs.  Many  evils  have  crept  into  the 
state  government  which  I  believe  I  shall  be  able  to  remedy. 
I  am  going  to  give  Illinois  an  honest,  efficient  and  economical 
administration.  To  do  this  I  propose  to  surround  myself 
with  the  ablest  lieutenants  it  is  in  my  power  to  select. 


HARRIET     LOWDEN 


"I  will  hold  my  appointees  to  as  high  a  degree  of  efficiency 
in  the  public  service  as  is  exacted  from  men  in  the  employ  of 
the  best  managed  private  businesses.  When  I  make  an 
appointment  that  man's  whole  duty  from  that  moment  will 
be  to  the  public.  I  will  have  that  definitely  understood  at 
the  start." 

Colonel  Lowden  actively  interests  himself  in  public 
affairs  and  participates  earnestly  in  an  effort  to  propagate  a 
spirit  of  patriotism  and  of  loyalty  to  America.  In  politics 
he  has  always  been  a  staunch  Republican.  In  his  religious 
opinions  Colonel  Lowden  is  liberal  and  tolerant.  He  is  a 
regular  attendant  at  church  and  was  a  close  and  devoted 
friend  of  Professor  David  Swing  during  the  lifetime  of  that 
divine. 

Socially  Colonel  Lowden  occupies  a  prominent  place. 
Possessing  a  high  degree  of  good  fellowship,  he  is  an  active 
member  of  many  societies  and  clubs.  A  vigorous  physique 
and  intellect  enable  him  to  attend  adequately  to  the  social 
side  of  life  without  neglecting  the  cultivation  of  the  mind. 
He  is  a  constant  reader  of  the  best  literature  and  is  an 
unusually  apt  classical  scholar. 

BOTH  STUDENT  AND  ORATOR 

The  same  qualifications  which  gained  for  Colonel 
Lowden  his  reputation  as  an  advocate,  supplemented  by 
broad  sympathies  and  a  fine  culture,  won  for  him  recog- 
nition as  a  public  speaker;  and  his  presence  on  the 
platform  or  at  a  speakers'  table  is  much  in  demand. 

His  gift  as  an  orator  is  peculiar,  in  its  wideness  of  range ; 
he  has  been  equally  successful  as  political  campaigner,  after- 
dinner  speaker  and  war  orator. 

From  the  prairies  of  Minnesota  and  Iowa  in  the  '60s 
to  the  state  capitol  at  Springfield  as  chief  executive  of  more 
than  six  millions  of  people  is  a  long  journey. 

But  a  crowning  achievement. 


LOWDEN  AS  GOVERNOR 

Upon  assuming  the  duties  of  his  office  January  8,  1917, 
Governor  Lowden  immediately  turned  his  attention  to  the 
great  things  in  the  program  he  had  promised  the  people. 
Foremost  among  them  was  the  consolidation  of  125  com- 
missions, boards  and  bureaus  into  nine  major  departments 
with  a  director  at  the  head  of  each  who  would  be  required  to 
live  in  Springfield  and  give  his  entire  time  to  the  state. 
Before  he  had  been  in  office  sixty  days  this  consolidation  act 
had  passed  both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  and 
become  a  law. 

In  addition  to  abolishing  many  useless  agencies  and 
improving  the  efficiency  of  existing  divisions,  the  new  law, 
called  The  Civil  Administrative  Code,  provided  for  making 
a  budget  in  the  Department  of  Finance  and  its  presentation 
to  the  Legislature  by  the  Governor.  Upon  his  appointment, 
July  1,  1917,  the  Director  of  Finance  and  his  assistants  began 
the  study  of  the  finances  of  the  state.  Their  work  was  so 
well  done  that  when  the  taxing  body,  consisting  of  the 
Governor,  the  State  Treasurer,  and  the  Auditor  of  Public 
Accounts,  met  in  December,  1918,  they  were  able  to  present 
such  an  accurate  report  of  the  finances  that — notwith- 
standing the  United  States  had  been  at  war  twenty-two 
months  and  war  prices  had  prevailed — the  tax  rate  was 
reduced  from  90  to  75  cents  on  the  $100  taxable  valuation. 
This  meant  a  saving  of  $4,000,000  to  the  tax-payers  of  the 
state.  Efficiency  in  the  nine  departments,  more  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  state's  needs  and  constant  watchfulness 
over  expenditures  contributed  toward  this  saving. 

BUSINESS  GUMPTION  IN  STATE  AFFAIRS 

The  effectiveness  of  the  new  organization  was  shown  in  a 
saving  of  $150,000  in  traveling  expenses,  notwithstanding 
higher  railroad  fare  and  increased  prices  at  the  hotels. 
There  was  a  saving  of  $90,656  in  printing  where  there 
usually  had  been  a  deficit.  The  nine  departments  showed 
$1,710,175  unexpended  appropriations  which  more  than  over- 


balanced  a  deficiency  in  the 
Department  of  Public  Wel- 
fare which  contains  all  the 
charitable  and  penal  institu- 
tions of  the  State.  Consider- 
ing that  appropriations  had 
been  made  on  the  same  basis 
as  those  of  1915-16,  the 
showing  was  remarkable. 

Illinois  needed  a  new  con- 
stitution, the  present  consti- 
tution having  been  adopted 
in  1870.  The  Governor  re- 
commended that  a  resolution 
be  passed  by  the  Legislature 
submitting  to  the  people  the 
question  of  whether  or  not 
they  wanted  a  new  constitu- 
tion. The  Legislature  con- 
curred in  the  recommenda- 
tion, and  the  people  voted  in 
November,  1918,  by  74,239 
majority  to  call  a  constitutional  convention 
tion  will  be  held  in  1920. 


FRANCES  LOWDEN 


This  conven- 


GOOD  ROADS  FOR  ILLINOIS 

For  fifteen  years  Illinois  had  been  trying  to  get  out  of 
the  mud.  Governor  Lowden  recommended  a  $60,000,000 
bond  issue  to  build  4,800  miles  of  roads.  Both  interest  and 
principal  are  to  be  paid  from  fees  received  from  automobile 
licenses.  The  Legislature  approved  the  suggestion  and  it 
was  submitted  to  the  people.  At  the  November,  1918, 
election  by  a  constitutional  majority  of  212,404  they  said 
they  wanted  good  roads.  Since  then  the  Illinois  idea  has 
taken  and  many  other  states  are  submitting  bond  issues 
under  the  same  conditions. 

One  of  the  great  abuses  that  had  been  a  source  of  con- 
stant annoyance  in  the  city  of  Chicago  was  the  starting  of 


wildcat  or  private  banks.  Any  individual  could  paint  the 
word  "bank"  on  his  door  and  accept  the  funds  of  his  neigh- 
bors without  supervision  from  the  state.  Hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  were  lost  in  this  way.  Governor 
Lowden  recommended  state  supervision  for  all  private 
banks,  and  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  a  powerful 
lobby  the  bill  was  passed.  Upon  submission  to  the  people 
at  the  November  election  it  was  approved  by  a  large  vote. 

A  REAL  WAR  GOVERNOR 

When  war  was  declared  by  President  Wilson  February 
3,  1917,  Governor  Lowden  issued  a  statement  to  the  people  of 
Illinois  in  which  he  declared  "It  is  the  solemn  duty  of  all 
Americans  to  rally  to  his  support."  Three  days  later  he 
went  before  the  Legislature  in  joint  session  and  said  to  its 
members, "We  may  have  many  sympathies;  we  can  have  but 
one  allegiance  and  that  allegiance  is  to  the  United  States." 

Illinois  was  regarded  by  the  Washington  authorities  as 
dangerous  territory,  perhaps  the  most  critical  of  any  state 
in  the  Union.  Governor  Lowden  appointed  a  State  Council 
of  Defense  representing  all  parties  and  elements.  That 
council  made  a  remarkable  record.  With  only  $50,000 
appropriated  by  the  state  it  did  work  that  in  some  states 
cost  $5,000,000  and  achieved  efficiency  that  placed  it  in  the 
van.  It  raised  and  equipped  15,000  Home  Guards  besides 
sending  thousands  of  fairly  well  trained  young  men  into  the 
service  where  they  obtained  immediate  recognition  as  non- 
commissioned officers. 

Governor  Lowden  visited  the  Illinois  troops  in  camps 
and  spoke  to  them.  He  bade  them  goodbye  at  the  sea- 
board, sending  them  on  their  mission  with  cheering  and 
inspiring  words.  One  of  the  regiments — the  old  First 
Illinois  National  Guard,  subsequently  the  131st  Infantry — 
was  the  regiment  of  which  he  was  Lieutenant  Colonel  for 
three  years.  In  the  Prairie  Division  to  which  the  131st  was 
assigned  was  his  own  son  Pullman,  who  wears  the  gold  of 
overseas  service  upon  his  sleeve.     Illinois  sent  314,504  of 


its  fine  young  men  into  the  service.  The  records  of  their 
gallantry  will  be  read  in  the  history  of  the  western  front — 
Argonne  Forest  and  St.  Mihiel. 

NEW  ISSUES  ABSORB  HIM 

When  the  Fifty-first  General  Assembly  met  January  8, 
1919,  the  House  of  Representatives  was  organized  the  first 
day.  Within  a  week  both  bodies  had  ratified  the  dry 
amendment  to  the  federal  constitution — Illinois  being  the 
twenty-first  state,  as  it  was  the  twenty -first  to  enter  the 
Union.  His  program  and  that  of  his  party  was  written  into 
law  at  the  first  session.  Reconstruction  and  the  betterment 
of  the  lot  of  the  average  man  are  two  great  issues  that  are 
absorbing  the  Governor.  His  own  future  bothers  him  little. 
He  always  has  said  that  if  a  public  official  is  fair  to  the 
people,  the  people  will  look  after  his  interests.  He  is 
absorbed  in  the  study  of  new  issues  and  the  great  problems 
that  are  now  confronting  the  state  and  nation.  In  his 
message  to  the  1919  General  Assembly  the  Governor  recom- 
mended a  waterway  from  Chicago  to  St.  Louis;  a  general 
revision  of  the  revenue  laws;  a  reduction  in  the  cost  of 
primaries  and  elections;  an  adequate  law  for  corporations; 
larger  powers  for  courts,  and  an  eight-hour  day  for  women. 
He  suggested  a  state  housing  code;  greater  development  of 
agriculture  with  a  land  tenure  act;  the  planting  of  trees  and 
the  reorganization  of  all  state  and  municipal  pension  systems. 


Home  of  Frank  O.  Lowden  near  Oregon,  111. 


FRANK    O.    LOWDEN 

Born  January  26,  1861,  Sunrise,  Minnesota. 

Moved  to  Hardin  County,  Iowa,  1868. 

Taught  school  from  15  to  20. 

Valedictorian  '85  class,  Iowa  State  University. 

Law  Clerk,  Dexter,  Herrick  &  Allen,  Chicago. 

Valedictorian  '87  class.  Union  College  of  Law  (now  North- 
western) . 

President  Alumni  Association  and  trustee  Northwestern 
University  for  several  years. 

Trustee  University  of  Chicago  and  Knox  College,  Galesburg, 
several  years. 

1896 — April  29th,  married  Miss  Florence  Pullman,  daughter 
of  George  M.  Pullman.  Have  four  children — one 
son  and  three  daughters. 

1898 — Formed  law  partnership — Lowden,  Estabrook  & 
Davis.  Mr.  Lowden's  law  practice  was  extensive  and 
varied.  He  was  one  of  the  most  successful  trial 
lawyers  in  Chicago.  He  was  an  able  counsellor  and  a 
convincing  speaker.  He  occupied  the  chair  of  Federal 
Jurisprudence  in  Northwestern  Law  School.  Lowden 
Hall  was  named  after  him  for  his  services. 
Elected  Lieutenant  Colonel,  First  Regiment,  Illinois 
National  Guard. 

1900 — Delegate  to  Republican  National  Convention. 

1904 — Candidate  for  Republican  nomination  for  Governor. 
Defeated  by  combination  of  Yates -Deneen  forces  on 
79th  ballot,  on  which  Mr.  Deneen  was  nominated. 

1904-1912 — Republican  National  Committeeman  for  Illinois 
and  member  of  executive  body  of  National  Committee. 

1906 — Member  of  Congress  from  the  13th  district  until 
March,  1911.     Voluntarily  retired. 

1900 — Purchased  Hemenway  Farm,  now  Sinnissippi  Farm,  on 
Rock  River,  near  Oregon,  111.  Devoted  fifteen  years 
to  development  of  farm  along  practical  lines,  dairying, 
livestock  breeding,  general  farming  and  tree  culture. 

1916 — Elected  Governor  of  Illinois. 

1917 — Inaugurated  Governor,  January  8th. 


l^, 


